Mayor Moore apologizes for travelling down south to get vaccinated, visit family
By Rossland Telegraph
Another West Kootenay Mayor is coming under fire for travelling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rossland Mayor Kathy Moore recently travelled south of the 49th parallel get vaccinated, while at the same time spending time with family.
Despite having dual citizenship, and announcing ahead of time that she was traveling into the United States, Moore was ripped for being hypocritical on social media.
“I do regret the concern this has caused in the community and any issues for council,” Moore said in a statement.
“I understand that people are frustrated with the ongoing restrictions of the pandemic and the lack of family contact. Just like for many of you, it has been a very difficult time for me and my family.”
BC announced travel restrictions on April 23rd to keep communities safe and protect the healthcare system from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases.
On the advice of B.C.’s provincial health officer (PHO), Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, issued an Emergency Program Act order to prohibit non-essential travel between three regional zones in the province.
The regional zones are:
- Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley (Fraser Health and Coastal Health regions);
- Vancouver Island (Island Health region); and
- Northern/Interior (Interior Health and Northern Health regions).
Moore, who left Rossland the first week of April, said she remains in the U.S., performing mayoralty duties remotely.
In January, Castlegar Mayor Bruno Tassone abruptly quit his job after coming under fire for traveling outside the local community during holidays, despite provincial guidelines against non-essential travel.
Tassone, the Mayor of Castlegar since 2018, submitted his resignation about a week after being ripped on social media for taking a family vacation at his cabin at Mount Baldy ski resort, approximately 200 kilometers west of the Sunflower City.
In a recent by-election, former city councillor Kirk Duff defeated Florio Vassilakakis by 42 votes to claim the top job in the City of Castlegar.
